I feel super unprepared

[taylafjade]

I'm going to start my Whole30 this coming Tuesday, but I feel super unprepared. I feel like I don't know anything and I have the book and it still doesn't help. I don't know how to meal prep, I don't know how to go shopping. I've watched countless videos, read the book, and looked up many websites but my anxiety and my stress is tearing me apart. It makes me want to cry so bad and I feel like if I can't do this right, I can't do anything right. This is the last thing I'm clinging to to help myself get better, but I can't even do it right. I'm panicking and am in desperate need of someone's advice and help. I've exhausted my options, I feel stupid.

[Sjodo]

Take a deep breath. It's going to be okay. You can do this! Start by writing down the rules. What foods you need to focus on. Whole foods meats fruit veggies fats no sugar no grains no dairy. Think about the foods from the list of the ones you can have and write them down. Chicken, beef, pork, fish, eggs. From there pick your favorite fruits and veggies. And start to put together some meal ideas for the first week. Everyone is different and needs to go through things differently. Some of us have to prepare and prepare and prepare some more. Others like me just make a random decision to just do it and jump in head first with no plan at all. Find your balance and what works for you. I don't meal prep or plan but that's just me. I know I'm gonna be having eggs for breakfast everyday. But I like eggs. I can scramble them or fry them or boil them. Switch it up keep it interesting. For lunches I will most likely be having salad. Switch up the lettuce you use try different veggies try different proteins (eggs chicken steak). For dinner make extra and eat it for lunch or dinner the next day. Just breath. Focus on the foods you like take it one week at a time, and know that if you are having a meltdown you have a community here to give you advice and help out. So step one write down the rules. Highlight the foods you can have that you love make note of the foods you can't have that you love so you can avoid them. Pick a protein, fill the rest of your plate with veggies and fruit however you like them prepared. If you need to plan then map out a week of meals. Take note of what works and doesn't work. If your not a meal prepped then make extras for next day leftovers. Start from there and just take it one day at a time. You will be so proud of yourself when you reach day 30 and will feel amazing and accomplished. Good luck

[Jihanna]

First things first -- BREATHE!
I know there are a ton of Whole30 resources available, including the shopping list and pantry stocking guide, and so on... but honestly, all of that can get very overwhelming if you're coming into this without already having a good feel for meal planning and shopping. So take a deep breath and do yourself the favor of acknowledging that your kitchen doesn't have to have everything on those lists. That alone may help you feel slightly less unprepared going into this experience.

Second, get things as you need them. What I mean by that is that there's no reason for you to go out and buy ghee, coconut aminos, spice blends you've never used, and so on (unless you already use those things) until you have a recipe that calls for them... unless you just really want to have them on hand to play around. Waiting until there's a need not only saves you money, it also can save space.

Now, get familiar with your CAN HAVE list -- that's basically any unprocessed or minimally processed meat, bacon as long as it contains only compliant ingredients, every fresh fruit and vegetable (note: corn is a grain and peas are legumes, so those are out), fruit juice for sweetening dishes or drinks, coffee and tea (make sure any tea blends don't include things like Stevia leaf), nuts and seeds are also okay but not suggested for over-zealous consumption  Set aside any vegetable/canola/seed oil for the moment and make sure you've got some olive oil on hand (I generally keep olive oil for roasting, coconut oil for basically anything else, and sunflower oil to make mayo).

Print out the Sneaky Sugars and Common Additives lists to take with you to the store, at least at first. This helps you get comfortable with reading those labels and knowing if something is okay... or not.

Not knowing how to shop or prep isn't a deal-breaker here. You'll learn through doing. There are some guides available online, too... I'm linking a couple below, but they're just some that have helped me personally (whereas there are definitely more out there).

NomNomPaleo has an amazing series of Whole30 posts where she gives 90 days worth of prep tips, recipes, etc.

https://www.cooksmarts.com/ has a nice assortment of guides and beginner/basic lessons (in the Resources drop-down), including tips for kitchen organization, meal planning, shopping, preparing and cooking food, etc. There are a ton of recipes on their site, and every single one of them has a Paleo option which can easily be adapted (if even necessary) to be Whole30 compliant (like removing any added sweetener). They also put out a meal plan each week that you can peruse (including recipe details, prep tips, and even sometimes videos showing how to prep specific ingredients) for free. Their meal plan subscription (which has a free trial available) also shows things like weekend prep and easy scaling of recipes (the default is 4 servings, but subscription gives you 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 option).

I honestly have a ton of insight into how to shop, but it would overwhelm you even more than what I just posted, so I'll hold my tongue (er, fingers) for the moment and wish you the best on your journey!

[ashleyparik]

36 minutes ago, Jihanna said:

First things first -- BREATHE!
I know there are a ton of Whole30 resources available, including the shopping list and pantry stocking guide, and so on... but honestly, all of that can get very overwhelming if you're coming into this without already having a good feel for meal planning and shopping. So take a deep breath and do yourself the favor of acknowledging that your kitchen doesn't have to have everything on those lists. That alone may help you feel slightly less unprepared going into this experience.

Second, get things as you need them. What I mean by that is that there's no reason for you to go out and buy ghee, coconut aminos, spice blends you've never used, and so on (unless you already use those things) until you have a recipe that calls for them... unless you just really want to have them on hand to play around. Waiting until there's a need not only saves you money, it also can save space.

Now, get familiar with your CAN HAVE list -- that's basically any unprocessed or minimally processed meat, bacon as long as it contains only compliant ingredients, every fresh fruit and vegetable (note: corn is a grain and peas are legumes, so those are out), fruit juice for sweetening dishes or drinks, coffee and tea (make sure any tea blends don't include things like Stevia leaf), nuts and seeds are also okay but not suggested for over-zealous consumption  Set aside any vegetable/canola/seed oil for the moment and make sure you've got some olive oil on hand (I generally keep olive oil for roasting, coconut oil for basically anything else, and sunflower oil to make mayo).

Print out the Sneaky Sugars and Common Additives lists to take with you to the store, at least at first. This helps you get comfortable with reading those labels and knowing if something is okay... or not.

Not knowing how to shop or prep isn't a deal-breaker here. You'll learn through doing. There are some guides available online, too... I'm linking a couple below, but they're just some that have helped me personally (whereas there are definitely more out there).

NomNomPaleo has an amazing series of Whole30 posts where she gives 90 days worth of prep tips, recipes, etc.

https://www.cooksmarts.com/ has a nice assortment of guides and beginner/basic lessons (in the Resources drop-down), including tips for kitchen organization, meal planning, shopping, preparing and cooking food, etc. There are a ton of recipes on their site, and every single one of them has a Paleo option which can easily be adapted (if even necessary) to be Whole30 compliant (like removing any added sweetener). They also put out a meal plan each week that you can peruse (including recipe details, prep tips, and even sometimes videos showing how to prep specific ingredients) for free. Their meal plan subscription (which has a free trial available) also shows things like weekend prep and easy scaling of recipes (the default is 4 servings, but subscription gives you 2 / 4 / 6 / 8 option).

I honestly have a ton of insight into how to shop, but it would overwhelm you even more than what I just posted, so I'll hold my tongue (er, fingers) for the moment and wish you the best on your journey!

Yes- BREATHE! You can do this! Jihanna posted excellent resources, so please check them out. We are all here to help you succeed.